By vetoing P92.5 billion in unprogrammed funds and preserving the P150.9 billion remainder, President Marcos appears to be meeting his critics halfway. But halfway measures tend to produce half-baked ...

Second of a series MALFEASANCE in government is a tenacious metastasis, the cure for which does exist. It is as old as, in ...

FORMER Finance Secretary Margarito "Gary" Teves called on the government to scale back on unprogrammed appropriations and put more focus on essential social and infrastructure projects already in ...

MANILA, Philippines — The controversial use of unprogrammed appropriations has been questioned for years, with critics likening it to discretionary funds or the government’s pork. There still isn’t a ...

‘NOT BLANK CHECKS’ President Marcos on Monday, signs the 2026 national budget in a ceremony in Malacañang, witnessed by top leaders of Congress. The President says the unprogrammed appropriations in ...

MANILA, Philippines — The P150-billion unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 national budget are now under legal scrutiny after minority lawmakers filed a petition on Thursday, January 8, to have ...

LET me begin with a clarification that should disarm both critics and purists. I am not a lawyer. I do not claim any monopoly over constitutional interpretation, and I fully respect the right, indeed ...